Page:The Great Secret.djvu/219

Rh instincts with the material to gratify them, and should we not be base criminals and ingrates if we did not enjoy the pleasures which He has provided?

"He gives us the instinct of love. You have now proved how completely He caters for that instinct. On earth you may have made a mistake, and grasped the shadow for the substance—that was the error of your ignorance—yet you had your share of pleasure also. On earth you eat often what did not suit you—made friends of the wrong people—loved the wrong person; yet the food was luscious while it lasted, the friendship was a pleasure until you discovered its fallacy, the love engrossing for a time, therefore you had all the joys you were fitted for with your blinded senses.

"You see now, and therefore you can appreciate, so you have the keener and more lasting pleasure, and that is the heaven of all religions—to be supremely happy.

"You can enjoy this feast without reflection or remorse. It is drawn from the atoms of earth, yet no creature suffered to administer it to us, therefore it is free from sin. No after effects can trouble you, for as it is taken it is disintegrated. The wines have been drawn from the casks of centuries, mellowed by time, buried in the earth's womb. No epicure on earth's surface ever tasted such nectar, and yet we have an unlimited supply.

"Will the Christians who flagellate themselves and preach misery never understand the words of their own chosen Master? He came eating and drinking; even on the cross He said to the penitent thief, 'To-night shalt thou sup with Me in paradise.' Do you think that He would invite a guest to sup without having supper for His guest?"

The argument appeared plain to Philip and Adela,